Tin Plated Copper Bar

Tin plated bus bar.

Tin plated copper bar.

When you choose storm to perform electroplating services you ll regain control over quality and mitigate exposure to extended lead times. Tin plating is the most versatile finish for copper bus bars. Tin plating parts allows for exceptional solderability for power electronics. Therefore copper busbar is usually plated.

Yes entire manufacturing plants have been devoted to making aluminum bus bar and plating it with copper. When the plated copper components are returned for testing even the slightest scratch in the plated surface can mean a failed inspection. However bare copper bar begins to oxidize at higher temperatures and copper oxide has poor electrical conductivity. Silver should be used for moving bus bar parts in which arcing may be a concern.

Tin plated copper busbar helps upgrade design and provide the best quality for switchgears switchboards electrical panels power transformers and busducts by. Atotech used to offer and may still offer their alstan process for plating aluminum directly with tin skipping the copper plating step. Bus bars can have a cross sectional area of as little as 10 mm2 but electrical substations may use metal tubes of 50 mm in diameter 1 963 mm2 or more as bus bars for rigid electrical connections tinned coated copper bus bars offer a very efficient solution. High humidity or moisture content areas and marine and offshore saline atmospheres.

When working with copper bus bars plating is essential not only for longevity but also integrity and safety. Since 1999 storm has been electroplating right on premises. In most fixed bus bar applications tin is recommended. Tin provides excellent corrosion resistance for components susceptible to tarnish under a wide range of environmental conditions.

So both tin directly on aluminum and tin on copper on aluminum are common. Tinned copper earth bars could be used in external applications or where atmospheric conditions are more severe than normal i e. Tinning protects the copper and protects the earth bars from the formation of copper oxide tin effectively prevents oxidation. The tin and silver flashing are more resistant to oxidation than bare copper.